Audiences are split over Oscars' new way of presenting acting categories: 'I miss the clips'

A slight format change for the 2024 Oscars is upsetting some viewers and making others emotional.

On March 6, Raj Kapoor, an executive producer and showrunner for the 96th Academy Awards, revealed in a press conference that the show would bring back the “Fab Five” segment that was used for the 2009 Oscars, Billboard reported.

The “Fab Five” format features five former winners introducing the current nominees.

“So, we went back, we did a deep dive into Oscars history, and one of the best moments that we loved, and has not been repeated till this year, was the year that Bill Condon (screenwriter of ‘Gods and Monsters’ and ‘Chicago’) did it, and it was this lovely storytelling. And, again, it came down to connection. It was past winners speaking to present nominees, and just that lovely connection and that human interaction,” he said according to the publication.

He described the format as an opportunity for fans to hear the “personal stories” that connected past recipients to current nominees.

But while the change allowed movie fans to take a trip down memory lane, some viewers were irritated by the lack of clips showing the nominees’ performances on Sunday, March 10.

For the first category of the night, best supporting actress, Mary Steenburgen, Lupita Nyong’o, Jamie Lee Curtis, Regina King and Rita Moreno graced the Dolby Theatre stage and gave short speeches about the five nominees before announcing Da’Vine Joy Randolph as the winner.

Viewers reacted to the inclusion of more speeches instead of clips on X.

“I get the idea behind this format of presenting the acting awards i’m sorry but i HATE it! where are the clips!” one person tweeted.

Another requested, “Show clips of the actors’ performances as you’re announcing the nominees!”

A third asked, “No clips for the acting nominees?” and included a clip of a woman taking her television off the wall and tossing it to the ground.

One viewer said, “I miss the Oscar nominee clips, can’t be doing with the damn monologues thing,” and added a gif from “30 Rock” of Tina Fey’s Liz Lemon saying “No, thank you, please.”

Others appreciated the addition of the personal element to the ceremony.

“The past winners of Best Supporting Actress honoring the present nominees for Best Supporting Actress has me in complete shambles.  Whew,” one X user said.

Another agreed, writing, “Omg I love the way they’re doing this supportive actress category by having past winners tribute each nominee.”

Although the acting categories dropped the clips, viewers can still enjoy snippets of the nominated flicks for best picture, best production and other categories.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com